Ohio State Defense As Good As It Gets

Terry Glenn | Associated Press
Akron's Dennis Kennedy (3) is tackled for a loss by Ohio State's Larry Grant. Ohio State beat Akron 20-2. The Buckeyes are allowing just 44 yards rushing after two games and rank No. 1 in the NCAA in total defense.

HuskiesAT A GLANCE

Saturday

Ohio State (2-0)at Washington (2-0)

TV: ESPN, 12:30 p.m.Radio: 950 AM

By John Boyle

For the Kitsap SUn

SEATTLE

Sometimes, Ohio State quarterback Todd Boeckman considers game days a reprieve.

That's not a knock on whoever the Buckeyes are playing on any given week, and in the case of this week, on Washington. Their defense is just that good.

"It's nice going against them in practice, but sometimes it gets too tough," said Boeckman. "Going against them in camp is especially tough. Going against them every day, oh man, they provide a lot of problems for us."

The defense he raves about isn't just getting the job done on the practice field. After two games, the Buckeyes have allowed just 122.5 yards per game, giving them the top-ranked defense in the nation. Ohio State is allowing just 44 rushing yards and four points per game. Ohio State has yet to allow a touchdown.

Granted, the Huskies should be a much better offense than what Ohio State has seen in Youngstown State and Akron, but the numbers the Buckeyes are allowing — or not allowing in their case — don't appear to be a fluke.

Leading the Ohio State defense is junior linebacker James Laurinaitis, who as a sophomore won the Bronko Nagurski Award as the nation's top defensive player.

"He's big and he can run," Lappano said of the preseason All-american. "All those guys can run. All those guys are 230 plus and they can all change direction. . . They run really well. This isn't a big, slow defense. This is a big, fast defense. When you talk about the Big Ten sometimes, you talk about a bunch of big, physical, slow guys, but these guys can run. These guys have speed."

Laurinaitis, the son of professional wrestler Joe Laurinaitis, better known as the "Road Warrior Animal," talks about the Nagurski Award with humility you might not expect from the offspring of a professional wrestler.

"It was surprising," he said. "When you come in as a sophomore trying to start, I was just trying to get a position locked up. And that award wasn't all me at all. We've got a tremendous line in front of me and I've got tremendous guys around me. It's more of a humbling experience. It makes you realize that you didn't accomplish that alone."

And in case you were wondering, Laurinaitis calls his father his role model, but says that a wrestling career will not follow football because, "My mom would kill me."

Defensive end Vernon Gholston was a second-team all-conference player last season and finished the year with 7.5 sacks. All three linebackers are considered dangerous, and cornerback Malcolm Jenkins was a first-team All-Big Ten selection last year.

The silver lining for Washington can perhaps be found in January's BCS National Championship game. Florida upset Ohio State in that game employing a spread option somewhat similar to Washington's attack.

"You try to look and see what's hurt them and see if you have anything similar," he said. "But we're going to run our offense. We can't worry so much about them. They're a good football team, but we're not going to reinvent the wheel here. We need to execute our offense."

Like their coaches, Washington's players know they have their hands full, but are looking forward to the challenge.

"It's going to be big challenge," said receiver Marcel Reece. "Ohio State, they're the Buckeyes, they're THE Ohio State University. They're going to come out with a great scheme, great athletes, and it's going to be a challenge. We're going to make it a challenge for them too."

Who's No. 2?

The backup running situation is still undecided, said offensive coordinator Tim Lappano, though he'd like to figure it out soon.

J.R. Hasty, who came into fall camp as the backup has been slowed by an ankle injury, but should be getting back to full speed this week. Hasty has been pushed by freshmen Curtis Shaw and Brandon Johnson, both of whom have seen more playing time than Hasty so far.

"We're going to have to evaluate that and have a plan ready for No. 2," Lappano said. "It's really important, because you never know how long Louis Rankin is going to hold up. . . It's really important that we can find someone who can hold onto the football and make some plays."

Ticket Update

School officials said "a couple thousand" tickets still remain, but that there will almost definitely be some tickets available the day of the Ohio State game regardless of how many are sold in the next few days.